Overview
- Police charged Carl Gardiner, 51, with possessing cocaine, heroin and etonitazene and remanded him in custody.
- A 32-year-old woman arrested in the case has been bailed as enquiries continue.
- The man who died, 62, was found at a Leyland Road home in Southport after a suspected overdose on April 13, with toxicology still pending.
- With eight non-fatal overdoses logged in Southport and a possibly related case in Crosby, local services urge people to carry naloxone, avoid mixing substances, start with small amounts, and not use alone.
- Forensic testing identified etonitazene in the heroin supply, a lab-made opioid far stronger than heroin that can evade some test strips and has been linked by the National Crime Agency to overseas sources.